Lot
95

A ROMAN MARBLE STATUE OF A YOUNG SATYR WITH A PANTHER

CIRCA LATE 1ST-MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Price realisedGBP 577,250

EstimateGBP 400,000 - GBP 600,000

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A ROMAN MARBLE STATUE OF A YOUNG SATYR WITH A PANTHER
CIRCA LATE 1ST-MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.
Standing with his weight on his right leg, a tree trunk support behind, his left leg relaxed and crossed over the right with heel lifted, his head turned to the left, with mischievous expression, his lips drawn into a smile, his short wavy hair with pronounced nub at the front and bud-like horns at the hairline, dressed with a fillet, wearing a goat-skin, the hooves knotted over his left shoudler, falling diagonally across his chest in folds, under his right arm, and pulled up across his back revealing his buttocks, the remains of the forepart and legs of the goat extending down beneath his bent left arm; the panther seated at his feet, with stocky body, his tail curled round to the left, gazing upwards at him with right paw raised, the eyes sunken into deep sockets, with recessed pupils, the face framed by tufty mane, on an integral rectangular plinth
46½ in. (118 cm.) high

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Lot essay

This statue is after a 4th Century B.C. original by Praxiteles, the most famous example of which is the satyr anapauomenos or 'leaning satyr' in the Museo Capitolino, Rome. Cf. Exhibition Catalogue, A. Pasquier and J-L. Martinez (eds.), Praxitèle, Paris, 2007. Satyrs are associated with the cult of Dionysos, particularly embodying the pursuit of wine and women. In early Greek depictions, satyrs appear as old and ugly, however from around the 5th Century B.C. onwards this characteristic is softened and satyrs take on the more humanized, youthful aspect of the Praxitelean prototype and of this example. For the treatment of the facial features and hair, cf. G. A. Mansuelli, Galieria degli Uffizi: Le Sculture, parte I, Rome, 1958, fig. 132; for a satyr of almost identical scale in the Chiaramonti Museum, shown in similar pose, carrying two small panthers and dated to the 1st Century, cf. B. Andreae et al., Museo Chiaramonti, vol. 2, Berlin, 1995, p. 266, no. 243, pl. XL5. Satyrs are often depicted with panthers, the sacred animal of Dionysos, cf. the satyr teasing a panther in the Musée Cinquantenaire, Brussels, in D. M. Brinkerhoff, A Collection of Sculpture in Classical and Early Christian Antioch, New York, 1970, p. 31, fig. 37. See also, M. Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, New York, 1961, fig. 568.

Cataloguing & details

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.

Provenance

Formerly in the collection of the author Roger Peyrefitte, Paris, France, acquired before 1970. Accompanied by a French passport.

Saleroom Notice

Please note that this lot will be removed to Cadogan Tate at 5pm on the day of the sale, with two weeks free storage.